Dining room ideas

Dining room ideas
Inspiring dining room tables and chairs for the most social space in the house. Dining room ideas, from small kitchen diners to formal dining rooms.

Need some dining room ideas? This room is all about crowding a group of friends around the table with some delicious food, good wine and plenty of conversation. But creating the right atmosphere with some clever dining room design can help. Whether you're looking for inspiration on the big decisions like dining room furniture or are in search of smaller dining room decorating ideas (like dining room wallpaper), we have all the inspiring pictures you need to ensure your stylish eaterie is the hot topic at the table.

Dining room ideas
It took 10 people to install the Oxenwood ‘Jan Table’ (which seats up to 16 people) in this vicaragebelonging to the couple behind Porta Romana. Pierre Frey’s ‘Petit Parc’ cotton/linen lines the walls.

MICHAEL SINCLAIR
Dining room ideas
The dining room in this airy Manhattan home designed by Rita Konig features a Philippe Hurel table surrounded by chairs from Howe. The neutral palette of the walls, painted beams and Luke Irwin rug places the focus on the arched French windows, which open out onto the garden.

PAUL MASSEY
Mid-century cool
MID-CENTURY COOL
The mid-century pendant light in this Ben-Pentreath-designed house was created by Gaetano Sciolari for Stilnovo. There are touches of brass dotted throughout the house, not least this striking sideboard, which is a bespoke design by Rupert Bevan. It is made of American black walnut wrapped in brass, with a nano-lacquer coating to prevent oxidation. The company recently developed a smaller version of the piece, the ‘Polished Brass Cabinet’,

Calming neutrals

CALMING NEUTRALS
The walls of this ground-floor room in a house designed by Martin Hulbert are in the neutral ‘Joanna’ paint shade from Little Greene. The cabinets are by Anthony Downes Kitchens, while several bespoke elements were designed by Martin, including the waney-edged table and the bench behind it, which is covered in Warwick Fabrics ‘Nova’ suede.

LUCAS ALLEN
Bold in blue
BOLD IN BLUE
Vivid blues run throughout Audrey Carden's London house, including in the dining room. The photograph above the chimneypiece is Anelle’s Cornbread by Danielle Nelson Mourning.

Stylish nook
STYLISH NOOK
Adam Sykes' London house was inspired by the houses he saw while living on America's west coast.Seating in the kitchen is covered in Claremont's 'Cunard' weave in the ivory colourway; the mid-century Scandinavian rug is from Robert Stephenson.

Dramatic photography

DRAMATIC PHOTOGRAPHY
This dining area in a Shalini-Misra-designed London house has a table by Eero Saarinen, with a photograph from Marina Abramović’s Kitchen series on the wall. CTO Lighting’s ‘Array Opal’ pendant is a close match to the one over the table. In bronze with brass details, it measures 85 x 160 x 130cm and costs £3,420.

MICHAEL SINCLAIR
Gothic revival
GOTHIC REVIVAL
The red-leather-covered dining chairs in Guy Tobin's London house are Gothic Revival pieces, while the splashback tiles are from Fired Earth. The rook drawing on the wall is by Chris Otley.

MICHAEL SINCLAIR
Sculptural design
SCULPTURAL DESIGN
This double-height space at the back of Christine Van Der Hurd's London mews house has dining chairs by Paolo Pallucco. Two Massimo Micheluzzi vases sit on the travertine table by Willy Rizzo. The room also features a chandelier by Lindsey Adelman, and a display of Stig Lindberg ceramics.

Mayfair flat dining

MAYFAIR FLAT DINING
The light-filled dining area in this yacht-inspired Mayfair flat features classic Wishbone chairs and bespoke white cabinets, running seamlessly into the more opulent feel of the sitting area.

ELSA YOUNG
Relaxed dining
RELAXED DINING
The walls in the family dining room of this eighteenth-century house in Bath are painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Smoked Trout’. The dining table and benches are unfinished oak, and the rug is by Swedish artist Märta Måås-Fjetterström. Nicola upholstered the Howe ‘St Bernard’ armchair in a cashmere suiting fabric.

PAUL MASSEY
Pops of colour
POPS OF COLOUR
The family dining room in this eighteenth-century house in Bath is downstairs, but a dining area at the back of the living room is great for parties, thanks to a 2.5-metre diameter table from Holland & Sons. The bookcase was found in a Gloucestershire antique shop. ‘I explain to clients there will be a degree of wear and tear with painted floors, but the patina it creates is part of the look,’ says designer Nicola of the brilliant white floor in this dining space. ‘To keep it looking crisp, it will require repainting roughly once every three years, but you can get water-based floor paints that dry quickly, so it’s a simple job that can be turned around within a day.’ The shade used here is Farrow & Ball’s

Island dining

Royal purple

ROYAL PURPLE
Louis XVI chairs surround an eighteenth-century mahogany table in this London flat designed by Hugh Henry. Similar styles can be found at 1stdibs.